1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a dispensing machine for dispensing rectangularly shaped containers with flexible side walls, said containers including milk cartons.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been desirable to dispense milk contained in milk cartons from vending machines for some time. The cartons have flexible side walls and are easily damaged. Milk cartons tend to have a much greater strength longitudinally than they do laterally. When a milk carton is lying on its side and is subjected to pressure from other milk cartons placed on top of it, the milk carton at the bottom can be seriously damaged. Further, if a milk carton falls through the air, it could also be subjected to serious damage upon landing. Still-further, consumers will not accept milk contained in a milk carton that has been damaged in some way even if the carton does not leak. In the parent application, applicant created a dispensing machine that will dispense fragile cylindrically shaped containers containing soft drinks and the like. However, those previous machines would not dispense rectangularly shaped containers and would not dispense milk cartons. Further, those machines described in the parent application can only dispense one type of beverage.
Further, large milk cartons of a size of approximately two liters or two quarts are much more difficult to dispense than smaller milk cartons. The fact that milk cartons cannot be properly dispensed through dispensing machines has increased the selling price of milk as it is more expensive to sell milk over the counter than it is to sell it through a vending machine. Small milk cartons of a size of approximately a xc2xc litre or less can be dispensed from conventional dispensing machines because the side walls are very short and are therefore relatively strong and rigid compared to larger milk cartons
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing machine that will dispense rectangularly shaped containers with flexible side walls such as milk cartons and the like. The machine will also dispense various goods that are contained in rectangularly shaped containers that are similar to milk cartons. For example, juices, soft drinks, flavoured beverages, water and candy or any product that will fit within a rectangularly shaped carton can be dispensed using the machine of the present invention.
A dispensing machine for dispensing rectangularly shaped containers with flexible side walls has a housing with an outlet for the containers. The housing contains a plurality of shelves that are sloped toward a vertical channel and the shelves are constructed so that the containers will slide laterally along the shelves on one side toward the channel. The channel extends from below a lowermost shelf past an uppermost shelf and the channel provides an exit passage for containers from the shelves to the outlet. The channel contains a plurality of paddles spaced vertically apart from one another. Each paddle is capable of supporting a limited number of containers within the channel. The paddles are arranged to move simultaneously to lower one container (for each paddle) at a time from a space in the channel immediately above each paddle to a space in the channel immediately below each paddle. Each shelf has a first gate located at a lower end thereof to control entry of containers from that shelf to the vertical channel. There is no shelf immediately opposite each paddle. Each first gate has L-shaped guide means on a side thereof facing the vertical channel. Those gates of the first gates that are located immediately adjacent to the paddles are offset inwardly toward the shelves to provide greater width to the channel. Barriers are located in the vertical channel and there is one barrier at each access area where a shelf has been omitted to prevent a container in the vertical channel from exiting the channel prematurely through the access area. There are activation means accessible from outside the housing to cause paddles to move simultaneously thereby moving all containers within the channel downward one space at a time and moving a lowermost container to the outlet.
In a further embodiment of the dispensing machine of the present invention, the barriers located immediately adjacent to the paddles are not offset toward the shelves, but are bent inward giving each barrier a V-shaped cross section to provide greater room in the vertical channel for the containers to move past each paddle.
A dispensing machine for dispensing containers with flexible side walls has a housing with an outlet for the containers. The housing contains two sets of shelves, each set of shelves having a corresponding vertical channel. The shelves of each set are sloped toward the corresponding vertical channel and the shelves are constructed so that the containers will move along the shelves towards said corresponding vertical channel. The channel for each set of shelves extends from a lowermost shelf past an uppermost shelf, the channel providing an exit passage for containers from shelves of one set to the outlet. Each corresponding channel contains a plurality of paddles spaced vertically apart from one another. Each paddle is capable of supporting a limited number of containers within the corresponding channel. The paddles in each vertical channel are arranged to move simultaneously to lower one container, for each paddle, at a time from a space in the channel immediately above each paddle to a space in the channel immediately below each paddle. The paddles in each vertical channel move independently of the paddles in any other vertical channel. Each shelf has a first gate located at a lower end thereof to control entry of containers from that shelf to the corresponding vertical channel. There is no shelf immediately opposite each paddle. Each first gate has guide means on a side thereof facing the vertical channel. Barriers are located in each corresponding vertical channel, one barrier being located at each access area where a shelf has been omitted to prevent a container in the vertical channel from exiting the channel prematurely through the access area. There is a controller and activation means accessible from outside the housing to allow paddles in each vertical channel to be activated independently of paddles in any other vertical channel, thereby moving all containers within that vertical channel that is activated downward one space at a time and moving a lowermost container in the vertical channel that is activated to the outlet.